The CRO Wild TRAIL is a race set to take place on 2 and 3 July, starting from Limone Piemonte and finishing in Ventimiglia (Imperia), following the footsteps of the Cro-Magnons who lived in these valleys 25,000 years ago. It is a tough race that will touch the French border along a spectacular and evocative trail: one of the most beautiful of the Western Alps. The first part of the circuit will follow the paths of the Savoyards dated late-1800s, along the ancient Salt Road, a historic umbilical cord between the two nations. It will cross the long and typical Sentier Valléen trail, mostly in the Roya Valley, to then tread another crucial path of our Alps, the Alta Via dei Monti Liguri (high route of the Ligurian mountains), starting in Airole and descending towards the seafront of Ventimiglia.
This 90-km route will touch nearly every town of the Roya Valley: Limone Piemonte in the province of Cuneo; Tende, La Brigue, Saorge, and Breil-Sur-Roya in France; Olivetta San Michele and Airole in the province of Imperia; and finally the border town.
The race boasts a 5,000-m (16,404-ft) elevation gain and a 6,000-m (19,685-ft) elevation loss and is restricted to Italian and foreign athletes with a valid medical certificate. In any case, a supervision and rescue service – even with motor vehicles – is available along the circuit.
The CRO Wild TRAIL – for the third straight year fully “PLASTIC-FREE” – is an ultra-trail, a growingly popular discipline involving athletes prepared to go beyond their limits. About 20% of the contestants are from other countries in Europe and the rest of the world.
Illustrious names and legends in the trail running circle have given lustre to and even won the 17 previous editions of the CRO Trail: Marco Olmo, Dawa Sherpa, Antoine Guillon, Pablo Barnes, Michele Graglia among the men, and Virginia Olivieri, Karine Herry, and Alessandra Boifava among women. Just to mention a few.
TRAIN transportation from Ventimiglia and start in Limone on the evening of 1 July. Return from Limone to Ventimiglia on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 July.
To complete the CRO Wild Trail, the organization has added the CRO Mini Trail, a 20-km (12.4-mi) race (1,200 m/3,937 ft EG – 1,350/4,429 ft EL) from the Airole inland to the beaches of Ventimiglia on Sunday 3 July from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
For more information, visit the website www.crotrail.it
Luca Giovannetti
CRO – Corsa ai forti –
CRO TRAIL 2015
volantino fronte CRO con mini ITRA
Translation: Professional.
